Dear friends - I am attaching, below, a great
book review, by Amory Lovins, of what appears to be an excellent book titled
“Harness the Sun,” by Philip Warburg. Just in case you are unable to open
the attachment, I’m also copying the review into this email. Peace - Art

SCIENCEsciencemag.org9 OCTOBER 2015 • VOL 350 ISSUE 6257
169 Harness the Sun America’s Quest for a
SolarPowered Future Philip Warburg Beacon Press, 2015. 251 pp. I n 1931,
Thomas Edison remarked, “I would put my money on the sun and solar energy. What
a source of energy!” He was right, but early. In 2014, only 0.5% of U.S.
electricity was derived from solar energy. Yet even a little can be highly
disruptive. For example, solar power production upended the business models and
market value of major European utility companies before reaching even 5% of
German power generation. Solar power worldwide is scaling up faster than
cellphones. Rooftop solar power has lately been adopted in Australia at an
average per-capita rate 10 times that of California, reaching 90% of homes in
some areas. And while solar power added 32% of new U.S. generating capacity in
2014, in 2013 alone, China added more photovoltaic (PV) capacity than the
United States has added since Bell Laboratories unveiled the first modern solar
cell in 1954. PV panels are popping up everywhere— not just on roofs and
roadsides but in inner cities, tribal lands, and military bases. A summary of
what’s happening and what it means has long been overdue, and Philip Warburg’s
readable and engaging Harness the Sun admirably fills this need. His more than
120 interviews vividly portray the diverse motives, beliefs, styles, and
methods of a host of entrepreneurs, activists, and ordinary citizens promoting
American solar energy. The fastest-growing U.S. energy source, solar power is
rapidly creating income and jobs. The solar industry’s pace drives and is
driven by steeply falling prices (low prices make us buy more PVs, so they get
cheaper, so we buy more, and so on). Spurred by German success, which inspired
massive Chinese production, solar modules went on a price path akin to
sneakers, falling more than 100-fold since 1975 and by 80% just in the past 5
years. Warburg’s lucid explanations of both PV and concentrating solar
plants—whose mirrors or lenses focus solar light or heat onto a boiler—offer readers
a broad context for understanding solar energy. He breaks down manufacturing
processes, explains federal subsidies, explores ways to make solar panels
affordable for renters and low-income communities, describes net metering (in
which customers sell solar energy back to the grid), and insightfully dissects
domestic solar politics and international trade disputes. Some of the facts
that Warburg presents are startling, like the EPA’s finding of 5.5 trillion
watts of solar-energy potential on U.S. lands believed to be contaminated with
hazardous wastes (“brownfield sites”). But almost none of these facts are
wrong. I had only a few quibbles. In chapter 5, Warburg refers to a study
conducted by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) that claims that in
order to supply 100% of America’s power needs from the sun, solar installations
would need to be erected on ~0.6 percent of the country’s total land area. He
argues, therefore, that “we shouldn’t expect solar arrays on buildings, parking
lots, and brownfields to satisfy all our electricity needs.” However, the NREL
study actually excluded parking lots, which, by my calculation, could provide
up to about half of U.S. electricity, especially at today’s >21% module
efficiency rather than the 13.5% that NREL assumed in 2008. Additionally,
Warburg notes that ground-mounted PVs “blanket” up to half the land they
occupy, but as he mentions later on, nearly all their total land use can be
simultaneously used for livestock grazing, wildlife habitat, or other functions.
And finally, in chapter 9, Warburg says that solar power costs more than gas
power unless externalities are counted, but Bloomberg New Energy Finance,
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and a half-dozen major financial houses
have found that utilityscale solar, now averaging under a nickel per
kilowatt-hour, generally beats gas plants’ lifetime cost even without valuing
carbon or the volatility of gas prices. It’s true that this estimate includes a
federal solar subsidy (which is set to fall from 30% to 10% after 2016), but
permanent subsidies for nonrenewable energy sources are generally larger.
Warburg’s graceful, diverse, wide-ranging, and well-balanced storytelling
artfully fits a complex topic into 192 pages of text, which is easily digested in
a sitting. That’s a valuable service to a society rife with solar myths, many
deliberately manufactured. In a second edition, I’d suggest adding an index and
three expansions. It would be worth discussing how the resilience of
distributed renewables is vital not just for military bases but for all
citizens. Of the billion-odd watts of rooftop solar power in New Jersey, for
example, over 90% survived Superstorm Sandy, but not a solar watt worked
without grid power. The utility companies that required solar power to depend
on the grid are now moving to adopt industry consensus standards that let
rooftop PVs work safely with or without the grid. Warburg fails to discuss
flexible loads, distributed thermal storage, and other cheap substitutes for
bulk electrical storage, whose supposed necessity is variable renewables’
greatest myth. And finally, Warburg’s sketch of how business models will
transform to incorporate renewable energy resources just scratches the surface
of a rich and important topic. But these are small gaps in what is ultimately
an important and timely contribution to the public understanding of solar
power. 10.1126/science.aad0474 A bright future RENEWABLE ENERGY Solar farms can
be built to accommodate livestock grazing and the habitats of native wildlife.
By Amory B. Lovins The reviewer is at Rocky Mountain Institute, Snowmass, CO
81654, USA. E-mail:ablovins@rmi.orgThe
rise of solar energy and the path ahead for America’s renewable energy sector
PHOTO: HYKOE/ISTOCKPHOTO Published byAAAS onOctober 25, 2015www.sciencemag.org

The great energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable
sources of energy is under way.

As oil insecurity deepens, the extraction risks of fossil fuels
rise, and concerns about climate instability cast a shadow over the future of
coal, a new world energy economy is emerging. The old economy, fueled by oil,
natural gas, and coal is being replaced with one powered by wind, solar, and
geothermal energy.

The
Great Transition details the accelerating pace of this global energy
revolution. As many countries become less enamored with coal and nuclear power,
they are embracing an array of clean, renewable energies. Whereas solar energy
projects were once small-scale, largely designed for residential use, energy
investors are now building utility-scale solar projects. Strides are being
made: some of the huge wind farm complexes under construction in China will
each produce as much electricity as several nuclear power plants, and an
electrified transport system supplemented by the use of bicycles could reshape
the way we think about mobility.

“Solar future bright:
Renewable energy can benefit all” by FRANK KELLY, Special to the Democrat-Gazette

There are many
shining examples of community power networks paving the way to the distributed
generation frontier. States, cities and neighborhoods across the country are
implementing new policies and programs to give renewable-energy developers a
spot on the playing field.

As a customer
with a net-metering facility, I create electricity from solar electric panels
on my roof. If my facility consumes the electricity, I avoid buying kilowatts
from the utility. If the electricity generation is in excess of what I need, it
goes back to the utility for credit against those kilowatts I need at night or
when the sun is not shining. At the end of each billing period, the amount of
kilowatts I received from the utility is offset by the amount of kilowatts I
sent back.

By entering
into long-term purchase agreements for the total generation from the
renewable-energy system instead of trading kilowatt hours back and forth like
we have with net-metering, it would only mean sharing generation capability
with independent system owners.

The Arkansas
Renewable Energy Association is one of those groups working tirelessly to help
raise the top-of-mind awareness of fellow Arkansans to think more about how
their electricity is generated. Once there is an understanding of the real
numbers associated with the democratization of energy generation, there is the
realization that we should be promoting this, for diversification reasons
alone.

Solar energy
generated by rooftop solar panels is something that most Americans can access.
This should come as no surprise given the falling costs of solar over the last
few years. There is little reason to insert a leasing component into a plan
that should end with system ownership being retained by the person wanting a
little energy independence and protection from future electricity price
increases.

Rooftop solar
system owners continue to pay for the privilege of being connected to the grid
through a monthly customer charge that includes a state sales tax. What the
utility is getting out of the roof-mounted solar electric systems are kilowatt
hours being created at numerous locations around the state. There are no line
losses since excess generation flows to the next consuming customer, not back
to the substation and then out again.

Distributed
generation from rooftop solar electric systems requires no new utility-owned
infrastructure. It lightens the load on the transmission lines, allowing
existing equipment to continue in service longer, reducing stress on the lines,
and delaying the need for additional grid infrastructure improvements. Rooftop
solar electric systems generate electricity during the time of day when it is
needed most.

If Arkansas
wants to diversify how our electricity is generated, we should move to enact
incentives to promote more renewable-energy installations instead of carrying
on with electric utility cartel deterrents. Owners of renewable-energy systems
take their own funds or, if necessary, borrow funds to invest, insure, upkeep,
and maintain their renewable energy systems. These ownership costs are not
borne by other electric utility customers.

The benefits of
rooftop solar electric systems are beneficial to all parties whether they own
their own system or not. The most economical and effective policies reward
renewable-energy electricity production with an added Renewable Energy Payment
(REP). A contract for a REP on your individually owned renewable-energy system
would breeze through the lending approval process. A REP stimulus would only be
needed for a limited number of years.

Enacting policy
that puts the electric meter as the only thing between the generation and the reward
cuts out many middlemen and as much of the present bureaucracy. The price of
rooftop solar electric systems has never been lower. All across Arkansas, if
your site is suitable for a rooftop solar electric system, you can prepay all
or a portion of your next 30 or more years of on-site energy needs at a lower
cost than what you are paying your local electricity provider now. That, my
friends, is what the utilities are afraid of.

Any state with
an existing netmetering policy should absolutely focus on eliminating the
artificial barriers that the electric utility cartel currently has on the
books. Arkansas’ own net-metering rules need intervention. Do we have any folks
in charge that care enough about it?

Embracing and
promoting efficient, effective, sustainable, and temporary policy incentives
that reward the production of electricity from independent renewable energy
systems should be enacted.

We'll make this one quick:
with all the posts about the Olympics, awards shows, and everyone's kids,
there's a good chance you might have missed some important social media
updates on the climate crisis.

Well, today we rounded up a
couple of our top posts from the last few weeks that are too important to
building a clean energy future to have gotten lost in the mix.

Share these images on your
Facebook account by clicking the "Share" button.

If you haven't
heard, the comment period for the Social Cost of Carbon has been
extended toFebruary 26. This gives us more time to make sure
supporters speak up for a government that counts how carbon pollution
is costing us every day.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The U.S.
Department of Energy has awarded one of its SunShot Incubator Awards to Silicon
Solar Solutions LLC, a start-up company affiliated with the University of Arkansas.
The award is the result of the company’s patent-pending process to increase the
efficiency of solar cells.The award could ultimately lead to new high tech
manufacturing jobs in Northwest Arkansas.Silicon Solar Solutions received $500,000 for
the award, which is targeted for early-stage assistance to help startup
companies commercialize their inventions while encouraging private sector
investment.Silicon Solar Solutions, a Genesis Technology
Incubator client at the Arkansas Research and TechnologyPark,
is the first company in the state to receive a SunShot Incubator Award.“This is the most prestigious and competitive
award a solar startup can receive,” said Douglas Hutchings, chief executive
officer of Silicon Solar Solutions. “Our goal is to prove our technology on
industrial cells and work towards Arkansas-based manufacturing of the
equipment.”Hutchings founded Silicon Solar Solutions in
2008 while a graduate student at the University
of Arkansas. In January,
the company submitted an application for a full patent on a self-aligned
hydrogenated selective emitter for N-type solar cells.The emitter, invented by Seth Shumate, chief
technology officer for Silicon Solar Solutions, could improve the efficiency of
solar cells by 15 percent and could save an average-sized solar panel
manufacturer $120 million annually, making the panels, and solar energy, more
affordable for consumers, Hutchings said.If successful, the emitter represents the single
largest technology leap in solar power in 40 years, according to Hutchings.The tool will be marketed through Picasolar
Inc., a sister company also located at the research park that shares the same
senior management and board of directors as Silicon Solar Solutions.Hutchings said the company’s next move is to
raise $2 million from private investors or strategic partners. This would allow
his company to partner with an equipment manufacturer to prove if the
technology can be scaled for production in the marketplace.“We’ve proven the process in the lab using
low-cost manufacturing techniques and we’re confident the process will work in
the marketplace.”The SunShot Initiative is a collaborative
national effort to drive innovation to make solar energy fully cost-competitive
with traditional energy sources before the end of the decade. Through SunShot,
the Department of Energy supports efforts by private companies, universities,
and national laboratories to drive down the cost of solar electricity to $0.06
per kilowatt-hour.Since 2007, more than 50 American start-ups have
participated in the SunShot Incubator Program – attracting more than $1.7
billion in private sector backing, or nearly $18 for every $1 of government
support. The Energy Department is investing more than $12 million across 17
companies to help commercialize a wide range of technologies and services– from
online tools that can map a rooftop’s solar potential in seconds to automated
installation systems for utility scale photovoltaic plants.“The tremendous growth in the U.S. solar
industry over the past few years is helping to pave the way to a cleaner, more
sustainable energy future that protects our air and water and provides
affordable clean energy to more and more Americans,” said Energy Secretary
Ernest Moniz. “Responsible development of all of America’s
rich energy resources is an important part of President Obama’s Climate Action
Plan and will help ensure America’s
continued leadership in clean energy innovation.”Hutchings earned a doctorate in
microelectronics-photonics at the University
of Arkansas in 2010.
Shumate is a doctoral student in the microelectronics-photonics program,
offered by the College
of Engineering and J.
William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

By Ben Sills -
Aug 29, 2011 5:10 AM PTSolar generators may produce the majority of the world’s
power within 50 years, slashing the emissions of greenhouse gases that harm the
environment, according to a projection by the International Energy Agency.

Photovoltaic
and solar-thermal plants may meet most of the world’s demand for electricity by
2060 -- and half of all energy needs -- with wind, hydropower and biomass
plants supplying much of the remaining generation, Cedric Philibert, senior
analyst in the renewable energy division at the Paris-based agency, said in an
Aug. 26 phone interview.

“Photovoltaic
and concentrated solar power together can become the major source of
electricity,” Philibert said.“You’ll have a lot more electricity than today but
most of it will be produced by solar-electric technologies.”

The solar findings,
set to be published in a report later this year, go beyond the IEA’s previous
forecast, which envisaged the two technologies meeting about 21 percent of the
world’s power needs in 2050. The scenario suggests investors able to pick the
industry’s winners may reap significant returns as the global economy shifts
away from fossil fuels.

The 17 members
of the Bloomberg Large Solar Energy Index have a combined market value of about
$27 billion compared with the $2.2 trillion of the MSCI World Energy Index’s
119 member companies.

Under the
forecasted scenario, which Philibert will set out in more detail at a
conference in Kassel, Germany, on Sept. 1, most heating
and transport will switch from dirtier fossil fuels to cleaner electric power.
Carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector would fall to about 3 gigatons
per year compared with about 30 gigatons this year.

To contact the
reporter on this story: Ben Sills in Madrid
at bsills@bloomberg.net

HERMANN SCHEER DIED, leader of
German solar movement. Amy Goodman devoted
entire program to him 10-15-10